Gluten Free Lifestyle!

So what's wrong with gluten if you're not intolerant?

Gluten is a biproduct of wheat processing. It is used to bulk up foods and give them more elasticity. Technically it is not a natural substance found in nature, so that is why a lot of people choose to take it out of their diet.

Gluten is a composite of a gliadin and a glutenin which is most certainly naturally-occuring.

You are right. I should have clarified that I was talking about added gluten found in most processed foods. A lot of food companies will extract and use the gluten from wheat unnaturally, which is what I was referring to. Thank you for mentioning that.

Snickers are gluten free!!!!!

If I could make on suggestion, from someone who has been [medically] required to be gluten-free for about two years now...

Your health will improve if you cut out grains in general, rather than simply replacing them with the "Gluten-Free" alternative. Eating a GF cookie is no better for you than a regular cookie in terms of weight loss. They both have sugar, starch, and depending on who makes it, may have trans-fats (hydrogenated oils). So rather than simply getting gluten free bread, just don't eat bread. Make a lettuce wrap instead of a sandwich. Skip the toast. Have veggies instead of pasta.

Since the sudden advent of gluten-awareness, and the discovery of a variety of illnesses and disorders caused by gluten, food companies have been marketing their "gluten free" products, but many times the wheat is simply replaced by potato starch, corn starch, or some other type of flour that is just as fattening (since carbs turn into fat), and will not help you lose weight. So people have this mentality (I had it too, when I first started) of "Oh it's GF, so it doesn't really count..." or "It's GF, so it's healthy!" will find themselves NOT losing weight, and wondering why, when they've been eating so "healthy"! Pure granulated sugar is gluten free, but I wouldn't recommend eating it by the spoonful...

And yes, other non-grain foods contain gluten. And if you want to be completely GF (eliminate completely rather than limit), by all means, get the GF versions. For me, it's a necessity. If I want soy sauce, I have to get the GF kind. But try to aviod the "GF alternatives" and find other foods to use instead. Your waist and your wallet will thank you.

And I'm certainly not saying that gluten isn't damaging to health even to those who don't have diagnosed intolerances. There are quite a few nutritionists and other researchers who are finding evidence of multiple problems being caused by gluten, even to those without allergies or clear intolerances.

A book you may be interested in is "Wheat Belly" by Dr. William Davis. It's rather enlightening to see what eliminating wheat can do. Good luck on your journey, and feel free to add me (my diary is open only to friends) if you need some help with what to eat.

I feel like people see Gluten Free and automatically think "well this must be healthy, there's no gluten in it!" Plenty of people have lost weight and improved health with gluten in their diet. It is not a neccessary thing to remove to improve health, unless you have medical problems with it.

So what's wrong with gluten if you're not intolerant?

Nothing. Gluten is the protein found in wheat. 100% whole wheat bread isn't bad for you unless you eat a loaf at a time. All things in moderation.

my daughter has a gluten intolerance- it is important to work on having plenty of fiber- brown rice pastas and brown rice, sweet potato, flaxseed is just a few examples of getting extra fiber into the diet - like nuts, beans etc- Because gf diet can be expensive- be creative with your normal foods - like salad for instance... I have learned that you can turn almost any sandwich, like a blt - into a salad... I have included the following into my salads -

mandarin orange, rice, left over taco meat, black olives, bean sprouts, apples, almonds, sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, craisins, tuna, chinese noodles, pasta,

I love my mom's tuna noodle casserole- we adapted it by adding brown rice pasta - lots of veggies, tomatoes, onions, peppers, radish, cucumbers - I imagine you could put zucchini and other vegetables- and then some people use cesar dressing or oil and vinegar - but because we used mayonnaise - I alter it with adding milk, yogurt, light mayo, with spices to make it less fattening -

Hi! Gluten Free foods are expensive because the flours that are gf are not refined, they are not as prevalent and over refined like the wheat we eat today - for instance, one sack of bean flour can cost about $55 dollars, and in order to reproduce cup for cup to wheat- you have to blend at least 3 or 4 different types of flours... You do not have to eat the breads, but grains are necessary, and most people do not think of corn, sweet potato, quinoa, rice, squash, peas, etc as grain or starch - but they are very good alternatives.